The invention relates to a warning device that indicates to the driver of a tire-equipped vehicle when the air pressure of one or more of the tires is too high or too low.
Rapid travel of a vehicle equipped with tires can produce significant excess tire pressure from heating due to ambient temperature, and to the quality of the road pavement and the gradient of the road, especially in mountains where prolonged use of brakes heats the brake drums and transmits supplementary heat to the tires. These factors can result in an increase of internal tire pressure to the extent that the tire can rupture and create a driving hazard. Also, if the vehicle brakes lock because of abnormal heating or because of some kind of breakdown, the transfer of heat to the tires is even more significant, which further increases the danger of tire rupture.
Many of the known warning devices for tire pressure anomalies are only sensitive to low pressure, and in view of the foregoing, are thus quite inadequate to ensure complete vehicle safety.